A taut, explosive Belfast-based punk band, Stiff Little Fingers (named after a Vibrators song) had the dubious distinction of being referred to as "The Irish Clash." What must have seemed like a compliment at the time did little to help their career, only because it made comparisons between the two bands inevitable. Granted, there were many similarities: both bands debuted playing revved-up late-'70s punk rock, were politically inclined, featured pissed-off lead singers, had a love for reggae, and possessed a near-palpable sense of isolation and desperation. But as we all know, the Clash offered complexity, panache, and a consistently breathtaking body of work. Stiff Little Fingers, on the other hand, were simply a very good punk rock band. With sandpaper-throated frontman Jake Burns leading the way, SLF did release an auspicious, if badly produced, debut album, Inflammable Material, that featured the band's two best songs, "Alternative Ulster" and "Suspect Device." Both were passionate, ferocious songs dealing with the harsh, deadly realities of growing up in the middle of two decades of Northern Ireland's violence.

Japanese noise punk outfit Teengenerate was a hair-raisingly dangerous experiment in sheer speed, razor-edged guitar violence, and appallingly low sound fidelity. In fact the quality of their recordings is so poor, the fuzz almost feels like another instrument; sort of like what gravel might sound like if it could talk. There are human vocals buried somewhere in the mix, courtesy of lead singer Fink, though the words are impossible to discern. Instead they sound a bit like the righteously indignant wordless ranting of a street corner schizophrenic who by some miracle of fate has managed to recruit a schizophrenic rock and roll band to keep him company out in the cold.The rest of the group included guitarist and backup vocalist Fifi, bassist Sammy, and drummer Shoe (who replaced original drummer Suck). Now defunct, Teengenerate was responsible for numerous bleeding ears during the mid '90s, when they regularly waged rock and roll war onstage and on the seven-inch slabs of vinyl they released with remarkable frequency. ~~ Jesse Ashlock

Monday, April 29, 2013

With their unique blend of raucous punk rock laced with reggae and dub, the Ruts were one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Britain's late-'70s scene. Their career was cut cruelly short by the death of their singer in 1980, but still the group released six crucial singles and a seminal album in their short lifetime. They were also a powerful force within Britain's Rock Against Racism movement, ensuring a political legacy at least as vital as their music.

Formed by four West London schoolmates in early 1978, the quartet of vocalist Malcolm Owen, guitarist Paul Fox, bassist John Jennings, and drummer Dave Ruffy initially gigged around their neighborhood with a fairly unremarkable post punk/early oi!-ish set. However, the rise of the neo-Nazi National Front and its deliberate recruitment of young people, saw the bandmembers take on an increasingly political stance of their own, adding their own voice to the growing grassroots opposition to the fascist threat.

It was from this grassroots response that Rock Against Racism sprang, informing and raising political awareness via musical events. The Ruts plunged into the organization very early on in their career, playing benefit shows and festivals, and it was at one such event that the group were introduced to the south London reggae band Misty in Roots. It was through Misty's own People Unite label that the Ruts' debut single, the driving "In a Rut"/"H-Eyes," was released in late 1978.

A uni-rhythmic blast of treble, the Metros' sole album release personifies teenage garage punk. Although the album is slightly more produced than the rest of the Rip Off catalog, it still qualifies as lo-fi. Lead singer Dave Zonca's masculine howl rages over a consistent rhythm and amped-up guitar wankery. This album's topical relevance is aimed at the drunken and the horny mostly, but it is slightly intelligent. The opening track, "Black Leather," is a convoluted cry for help, and a rockin' punk number at the same time. Other standout tracks include the glammy "Lay It on Me," the desperate "No More," and "White Boy/Black Love," which is reminiscent of the Dead Boys. Overall, a great album for garage punk fans, and a standout in the Rip Off catalog.

trACks: Black Leather - Mission - Stop My Heart - Sight And Sound - Venus In Her Eyes - Lay It On Me - No more - On the Radio Waves - Take It Or Leave It - Purple Hearts - In The Red - White Boy Black Love.

One of punk rock's longest running bands, the Vibrators emerged from the UK punk scene in 1976 and quickly found themselves sharing the stage with such notable acts as the Sex Pistols. Their initial releases were minor hits in England, and the band was able to weather frequent lineup changes, which started with bassist Pat Collier's exit in 1977, until 1980 when the band called it quits. But, as with most UK punk acts, reformation was in the cards. The original lineup came back together in 1982 and released the LPs Guilty and Alaska 127.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Though less aggressive than the preceding EP, Small Parts is nonetheless vintage Nomeansno, with tight instrumentation which is informed both by punk and by jazz. "Dark Ages" and "Teresa, Give Me That Knife" make for a fun time, but the unfortunate lack of zip to much of the material makes it slightly less interesting over the course of a whole album.

Burning Heads really started as a band back in 1988, from the split of other groups that were playing fast fucked and furious punk rock and New York style hardcore in their native town of Orleans, France. After countless appearances on split singles, singles of their own and compilations, they released their first eponymous album in December 1992. The self-titled album was produced by Donnel Cameron from Bad Religion and released on Semetery records.Play It Again Sam signed the band then and their second opus, "Dive," recorded with Jack Endino in Paris (Soundgarden, Nirvana) was released in October 1994. The band definitely set their own standard with the "Dive" album, and got international recognition.

Remember '95/96 "Nuclear winters are cool?" French President Chirac had nothing better to do than creating mushroom clouds over the bright skies of the Pacific atolls. Burning Heads announced the release of their third album "Super Modern World," "if the French nuclear bullshit does not destroy the planet first, that is". Eventually our planet was spared and the world could enjoy those catchy speed rock tunes played live during numerous gigs all around France with bands such as NOFX, Bad religion, Propaghandi, Les Thugs, Noir Desir, Down By Law, and even Canada with Ten Foot Pole.In 1997, The band's manager started his own label, Filox records in order to put out a Burning Heads compilation. But don't be fooled: this compilation is the complete antithesis of your average "best of" record: The "Weightless Hits" album regroups all the B-sides and 'not-so-known' songs that were released on 7" by the band over the years.

trACks: End Up Like You - SOS - A Bitter State - Who Wants To Know - Litttle Bird - Fine - Y2K Riot - Thinking Of the Time - Among The Stars - Freezin - Iron Dick - This Time - No Way - Babylon By Skate.

The band was born in may, 1994; in october of the same year they put out the Non Duri Molto demotape. Stupid Man, one of its 11 track, gets included in the Flower Punk Rock compilation, a fundamental step for the italian punk rock scene of the 90's, put together by Senzabenza with McGuffin records and which came out in march, 95. On the following month 6 tracks are recorded on the self produced 7" El Coche Loco. In january 1996 the band contributes with a song in italian to the No Time To Panic compilation (with such bands as NoFx, Gigantor, etc) and in march of the same year, following several gigs and excellent reviews, they put out their first full lenght lp Punk's Not Sad, this time as a coproduction with Fridge records. During 1996 many dates take the band around Italy and also in Spain, where a first Basques countries- only tour is followed by another tour that in april 1997 touches Alicante, Madrid, Caceres, Bilbao and Bakio. This experience also gives birth to a small book called Gira Crummy Stuff. No Cocco Oil, a new track, appears on a CD Rom called 'L'antologia illimitata', a tribute to the great comics artist Andrea Pazienza. In october, 1997 the band films a video in which 101 punk rockers from all over Italy simultaneously play the title track of the new album Never Trust a Punk that comes out at the beginning of 98.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Though Jeff Dahl's name will forever be linked with the Angry Samoans, thanks to his tenure as their lead singer, his solo work is more intelligent and varied than anything that band ever attempted. (Or, evidently, would want to attempt.) On Wasted Remains of a Disturbing Childhood, Dahl turned in a moody and complex album, with the usual angry and aggressive songs interspersed with more thoughtful pieces. This isn't to say that Dahl tones down the music, and in fact some of the most effective songs are the ones where the guitars howl and Dahl chants poetry over the din. "A Dash of Prayer" is a standout track, a portrait of someone begging the universe for a relationship to work, but there are some other tracks in the same vein that crackle with electricity. Dahl also slows things down and delivers a few nearly acoustic numbers, such as the downright pretty "Across Southern Plains," a Western-tinged number about withdrawing from the temptations of the city and into the desert. Knowing that this is exactly what Dahl has done in his Arizona recording studio gives this track a special significance -- one senses that he's really writing from the heart. The next track, the brief, cacophonous jazz instrumental "LA Blows," features Dave Nazworthy's honking sax evoking car horns and chaos. (Given that this CD was recorded during the L.A. riots, the Arizona desert must have looked pretty good right then.) Measured as a pair, the two give contrasting visions of the world. Measured as a whole, this ambitious album shows the depth and range of Jeff Dahl's talents, and it's a must-have for fans of intelligent and adventurous punk-rock.~~ Richard Foss

Includes the LPs BLOODSUCKERS and ANOTHER RELIGION, ANOTHER WAR plus the EPs In true iconoclastic fashion, the Varukers were still scrapping away at the punk rock game in the early 21st century, a full 20 years after their 1979 formation in Birmingham, England. Their distribution had never been widespread, and was often shoddy at best. But through personnel upheavals, occasional breakups, and releases appearing fitfully through fly-by-night operations, fans searching for vintage Varukers material often had to make due with so-so latter day re-recordings, or warped eighth generation mix-tapes. And that's no way to fight the man, now, is it? Luckily Punkcore has remedied this problem with Riot City Years: 1983-1984. The Bristol imprint began in 1980 as a platform for Vice Squad releases; as the Varukers' second label, it bore some of their best fruit. Riot City Years includes their first two 7"s for the label, "Die for Your Government" and "Led to the Slaughter". While the title cuts of both burst with scraggly screeds of English second-wave punk guitar and snotty gang vocals, B-sides like the furious, all-treble "All Systems Fail," and the double-time punch of "The End Is Nigh" are just as strong. The 1984 Another Religion Another War EP closes out this retrospective; by this point, the Varukers' rate of speed had reached ludicrous levels (check "Neglected" or "Who Pays?" for proof). While the intensity level was usually just as high for their 1983 album Blood Suckers, the material -- making up the midsection of this comp -- couldn't match the explosive bursts of the 7" releases. But that was nothing new for punk at the time, where shooting first and aiming later often made the statements more resonant. Even with its patches only passable punk, Riot City Years is a strong reissue that puts the Varukers' fiery past in good standing with the punk revivalist present. ~ Johnny Loftus DIE FOR YOUR GOVERMENT and LED TO THE SLAUGHTER. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Live Recording

trACks: Die For Your Government - All Systems Fail - Protest And Survive - Nowhere To Go - No Masters, No Slaves - Don't Conform - Android - March Of the SAS - Nodda (Contraceptive) Machine - Government's To Blame - Tell Us What We Wanna Hear - Don't Wanna Be A Victim - What The Hell Do You Know - School's Out (Maybe) - Led to The Slaughter - The End Is Nigh - You're Dead - Another Religion, Another War - No Escape - Condemned To Death - The Last War - Who Pays? - Neglected - Deadly Games- Seek Shelter In Hell.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Launch Off to War is the debut album by the American street punk band Cheap Sex, released in 2003 by Punk Core Records.

trACks: Launch Off to War - Consume and Consume - Take A Chance - Smash Your Symbols - Eyes See All - Dead Today - If Society - Dick Cheney - It's Up to You - Living In Fear - Out On Your Own - Backstabber.

Formed in 1980 in New Mills, Blitz were the label's first signing. Their debut release, a four track EP, was recorded very quickly, as were most singles on the label. The first pressing of 1000 copies were sold in a few days, mainly by mail order. A subsequent distribution deal with Rough Trade and Pinnacle led to sales of over 20,000 copies. Initial copies were all hand stamped as the label thought they would only sell 1000! Their debut album even hit the National charts! The band later became one of the most influential Punk bands of all time with numerous late 90's Punk bands covering their songs.

Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock/Oi! band formed in South Shields in 1977. The band espoused an anti-fascist and socialist working class philosophy, and have been associated with the skinhead subculture. More than two decades after its release, their debut single, "The Murder Of Liddle Towers", was included in Mojo magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time.

Crackerbash was three piece power pop punk mayhem out of Portland Oregon. They started in 1988 with Doug Naish on drums, who was replaced by Ted in 1989. They toured extensively through the USA with the likes of fIREHOSE, and also toured Europe with the likes of Girl Trouble. Unfortunately, soon after coming back from a European tour, they decided to call it a day. Sean later formed Junior High and played solo, while Ted and Scott kept on with Satan's Pilgrims, which they had formed in 1992.Crackerbash released singles on Imp, eMpty, Sub Pop, C/Z, and Simple Machines among others. They had one full lp (self-titled, 1992), and one ep (Tin Toy, 1993). The band and their fans always felt like the recordings never captured the excitement of their frenetic live show. In September of 2005, Crackerbash reunited in their hometown of Portland, OR to play live for the first time in almost 13 years. There were over 2,000 in attendance to see the band along with other early 90s Portland bands-Hazel, Pond, and Sprinkler.

Though known primarily as Dave Grohl's first band of note, Scream in fact released its finest material years before Grohl's entry into the band. After the primary wave of D.C. hardcore -- SOA, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Government Issue -- crashed noisily to the shore, kids from the surrounding suburbs, attracted by the sound and fury of the city center, began formulating sounds predicated certainly on the first wave, but with enough outsider flair to be considered unique. Scream was one such band, and probably the finest. Boasting the incredibly gifted vocalist Pete Stahl and his brother Franz on guitar (the two later formed Wool), and rounded out by the rhythm section of Kent Stax and Skeeter Thompson, Scream fought their way into the tightly knit in-scene of D.C. hardcore, and were initially greeted with suspicion as suburban rednecks. Indeed, Scream's music borrowed as much from classic rock -- especially on This Side Up -- as it did from Minor Threat's lockstep speed. The band's first release, Still Screaming, shows the band maturing, trying out the fast stuff, testing their feet in the Bad Brains reggae pool, talking about scene solidarity, etc. It's a solid record, bolstered by the Stahl brothers' deft ability to make an ordinary song truly soar with melody. Unlike most other hardcore bands, Scream was never blunt with its music. Of course, this was probably due to Pete Stahl's vocal talent, which was truly showcased on the follow-up, This Side Up. For all its glory -- "Bet You Never Thought" is a brilliantly crafted piece of anthemic rock -- This Side Up has a few duds, like the pointless castoff "Gluesniff." By the time of This Side Up, Scream had found its voice, and that voice owed a lot more to suburban rock than to the elitist hardcore found in the city. A D.C. hardcore classic. ~ Patrick Kennedy Recording information: Ambient Studio (07/1981-04/1985); Inner Ear Studios (07/1981-04/1985). Illustrator: Matt McMullen. Photographer: Jim Saah. Personnel: Franz Stahl, Robert Lee Davidson (vocals, guitar); Skeeter Thompson, Amy Pickering, Peter Stahl (vocals); Kent Stax (acoustic guitar, drums); Doc Night (saxophone); Dr. Know (piano). Audio Mixers: Don Zientara; Ian MacKaye.

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

While the Buzzcocks' singles captured the band's energetic, tightly wound pop style perfectly, the band experimented a bit more with song structures on their full-length albums. Many of the album tracks were in the vein of their classic singles, but the band also played some twisted, draining instrumental sections that were almost as impressive as their concise pop songs. Of their first two albums, the debut Another Music in a Different Kitchen is the stronger record, but Love Bites is only a shade weaker.~~ Stephen T. Erlewine

If Never Mind the Bollocks and London Calling are held up as punk masterpieces, then there's no question that Singles Going Steady belongs alongside them. In fact, the slew of astonishing seven-inches collected on Steady and their influence on future musicians - punk or otherwise -- sometimes even betters more famous efforts. The title and artwork alone (the latter itself partially inspired by the Beatles' Let it Be) have been parodied or referred to by Halo of Flies and Don Caballero, which titled its own singles comp Singles Breaking Up. As for the music, anybody who ever combined full-blast rock, catchy melodies and romantic and social anxieties owes something to what the classic quartet did here. The deservedly well-known masterpiece "Ever Fallen in Love" appears along with Love Bites' "Just Lust," but the remaining tracks originally appeared only as individual A and B-sides, making this collection all the more essential. The earlier numbers showcase a band bursting with energy and wicked humor - the tongue-in-cheek "Orgasm Addict," details the adventures of a sex freak with a ridiculous fake orgasm vocal break to boot. However, the slightly more serious but no less frenetic singles are equally enthralling. "What Do I Get?" with its pained cry about lacking love, the deeply cynical "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" and Diggle's roaring "Harmony in My Head" are just three highlights on an album made of them. The final songs show the band incorporating their more adventuresome side into their singles, as with the slower, very Can-inspired "Why Can't I Touch It?," the semi-jokey stop-start thrash "Noise Annoys," and the Murphy's Law worries of "Something's Gone Wrong Again."~~ Ned Raggett

Surfacing a couple of years after the band's unexpected resurrection but after the departure of bassist Garvey and drummer Maher, who were content to continue their other lines of work, Trade Test Transmissions is at once a fine, celebratory album and something of a disappointment. On the one hand, hearing the Shelley/Diggle partnership fully reestablished is fantastic enough; both singers sound just fine, and their guitar abilities are no less powerful than in the group's original heyday. New bassist Barber and drummer Barker do their jobs quite well enough. If not as distinctly powerful as the original Garvey/Maher section -- the subtle, inventive side of Maher's work is especially hard to replace -- they approach the songs with energy and don't let anything down. For all this, though, there's a sense of unfulfilled promise through Trade. It specifically surfaces in the way that Shelley and Diggle want to draw more on the strictly listener-friendly touch of the band's original days while generally ignoring the more adventuresome side that surfaced in songs like "Late for the Train," "Why Can't I Touch It?," and "I Believe." It's not quite pandering per se, but it's almost too easy an approach for a band that so clearly transcended the punk/pop formula as much as it perfected it. This aside, Trade is definitely enjoyable on its own terms, with a number of songs -- "Innocent," "Smile," the Diggle-penned and sung "Isolation," and "Alive Tonight" -- near equal to many moments on Singles Going Steady. "Palm of Your Hand" is a fun scream, an "Orgasm Addict" updated for the '90s that celebrate the joys of mutual masturbation. As a bonus, the American version includes two tracks from the Do It single, including the tough-rocking title cut, along with "Inside," a Diggle-composed number.~~ Ned Raggett